Indian regulations on hand luggage posing problems
The current regulations imposed by the Indian Civil Aviation Ministry on carrying hand luggage on aircraft are posing various kinds of problems for passengers, especially when they are forced to wait for long hours following any flight delay.
Take the passengers of Dubai-bound Air India Express Aircraft, IX 343, which left Calicut on Thursday night. They were stranded for about 12 hours at the Mumbai airport after the aircraft was re-routed, thanks to a technical snag. According to passengers, they had a tough time at the airport because they were not allowed hand luggage and hence, they couldn’t carry any food. They alleged that airline officials did not provided them with any food.
“The flight was scheduled to leave Calicut at 9.45 pm, but it took off at 11.30 pm. When it was air-borne, the pilot announced that the flight was being re-routed to Mumbai because of a technical snag,” said a passenger.
“When we arrived in Mumbai, airline officials took us to the transit area and told us that the other aircraft would be taking off soon. Later, they took us to another aircraft and we were on it for two hours. But it did not take off. Then they shifted us again to the transit area,” she added.
“We were not allowed to carry hand luggage. We didn’t have any food and airline officials did not provide us with any. Passengers who were travelling with infants suffered more. Finally, the flight took off from Mumbai yesterday afternoon.”
Meanwhile, the delay created panic among the families of passengers because no information about the delay was conveyed to them. “My wife and kid was travelling on the aircraft. When I went to the Dubai airport to receive them, the flight information desk told me that the flight would arrive at 3am yesterday. But it didn’t arrive. I called the Calicut airport and they informed me that the flight had left. No airlines officials were at the airport to give any information,” said Rajan, a resident of Sharjah.
The passengers who were scheduled to leave on Thursday at 9.45 pm for Calicut on the same aircraft were also stranded at the Dubai airport. They finally left yesterday at 5 pm.
The passengers protested at the airport because of the delay. The Dubai Police had to intervene.
No official from Air India was available for comments.